Iran, Afghanistan
389948234 | Indus Valley | 2500-1500 BCE, e Afghanistan, nw India, Pakistan Unpredictable flooding of river Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, gridded streets/waste-water systems Trade cotton w/Mesopotamia thru Khyber Pass | 0 | |
389948235 | Persian Empire | 550, Cyrus the Great makes tolerant empire Darius centralize laws and tax collection Infrastructure (Great Royal Road) connects Middle East to Asia Bureaucracy and military nobility Zoroastrianism: Zoroaster mixes Sumerian polytheism w/monotheism; life as battle between divine forces; influence Judaism From beyond Nile River around e Med. thru Turkey and parts of Greece, e thru Afghanistan Influenced by Hellenistic conquest; Hellenistic kings imitate Persian centralization/bureaucracy | 1 | |
389948236 | Persian Wars | 500-449 BCE, Sparta and Athens unite to end war in stalemate | 2 | |
389948237 | Seleucid Empire | c. 331 BCE, Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire 312-63 BCE, after his death, divided empire into Antigonid, Ptolemaic, and Seleucid Hellenism | 3 | |
389948238 | Sasanian (Sassanid) Empire | 227 CE, Persian rebellion displaced Parthians and more directly revive early Persian empire (Zoroastrianism) Bridge between Med. and East Joined attack on weaker Roman Empire Women more suppressed than bedouins Preserved Persian culture in e Middle East Landed aristocrats manipulate emperor and exploit farmers 651 CE, conquered by Muslims | 4 | |
390437107 | Umayyad Dynasty | 661-750 CE, Sunni Umayyads in power Reject Ali's claim as 3rd caliph Capital in Damascus Conquer Spain and Portugal, but blocked from France by Frankish Charles Martel Arabs get more privileges than non-Arab Muslims (mawali) Dhimmis free to worship, but pay jizya Caliph's luxuries and upset warriors w/out booty in Merv (e Iran) caused rebellions | 5 | |
390437108 | Abbasid Dynasty | 750-1258 CE, Abu al-Abbas (descendant of Mohammed's uncle) use Shi'a and mawali allies to defeat Umayyads Build capital at Baghdad Trade w/credit Art/science flourish in golden age in 1st half of 9th c; steel, algebra, paper, universities Preserve Western culture Theocracy, jizya Sufi mystics: missionaries stress personal relationship w/Allah; let followers practice own ways Qur'an protected women - some legal rights, equal before Allah, veils, duty to be loyal to husband/family Decline bc regional splinter dynasties and nomad invasions 1258, Mongols destroy Baghdad | 6 | |
390437109 | Buyids of Persia | 945, regional splinter dynasty captures Baghdad and makes caliphs into puppets Buyid leaders take title of sultan Conquered by Seljuk Turks | 7 | |
390437110 | Seljuk Turks | 1055, Sunni central Asian nomads beat Buyids | 8 | |
390437111 | Khwarazm Empire | Muhammad Shah, ruler Vassal of Seljuk Turks 1220, brutally destroyed by Mongols | 9 | |
390437112 | Ilkhan Khanate | 1258, Hulegu destroyed Baghdad | 10 | |
390437113 | Tamerlane (Timur Lang) | 1336-1405, man from noble land-owning clan led nomads to ruthlessly conquer Persia, Fertile Crescent, India, s Russia | 11 | |
390437114 | Safavid Dynasty | 1501-1736, Shi'a Turkic nomads from Sufi mystics Rivalry w/Sunni Ottomans Shah Abbas I (the Great) created slave regiments based on captured Russian youths (like Janissaries) Decline bc bad rulers lead to nomad raiders | 12 | |
390437115 | Shah Pahlavi | 1925-1979, Westernization efforts, land/education reform, increase right of women Strong public opposition - Islamic fundamentalists angry because want Qur'an law; others want political reform | 13 | |
390437116 | OPEC | 1960, Middle East forms Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries 1970s, cut supply to raise price of oil | 14 | |
390437117 | Iranian Revolution | 1979, Shi'a Ayatollah Khomeini ousts shah and goes back to theocracy Reverse modernization/Westernization, take away women's rights, Qur'an law | 15 | |
390437118 | Soviet invasion of Afghanistan | 1979, Soviet Union invades Afghanistan to promote puppet regime Afghan guerrillas backed by US held their ground | 16 | |
390437119 | Iran-Iraq War | 1980-1988, Sunni Iraq Saddam Hussein backed by US beats Islamic revolutionaries in Iran | 17 | |
390437120 | Modern Iran | After Khomeini's death in 1989, power struggle between Islamic fundamentalists and pro-Western minority Developing nuclear technology | 18 | |
390437121 | Taliban | Islamic fundamentalist regime in Afghanistan Harbored Al Qaeda (9/11) Extremely against cultural globalization Invaded by US after 2001 terrorism Islamic fundamentalists want religious law | 19 |